Third Acting NPS Director Under Trump Will Retire Next Month

by Elizabeth Duan | August 10, 2020
“The third acting National Park Service director under the Trump administration abruptly announced on Friday he plans to retire next month amid a legal challenge to his appointment. Vela’s retirement comes after the nonprofits Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and ...

Interior backtracks on coal nominee’s title

“The head of the Interior Department’s coal mining bureau has a new title. Lanny Erdos, who has been leading the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) for 10 months, was previously the agency’s acting director. Watchdog groups noted in an E&E ...

With Tactics Honed on Climate Change, Ken Cuccinelli Turned to the Portland Streets

“When Ken Cuccinelli was Virginia Attorney General a decade ago, he pursued an extraordinary legal campaign against one of the nation’s top climate scientists, in essence accusing him of fraud for his research tracking the rise in global temperatures. At the same time, ...

EPA Sued for Records Over Delayed Interactive PFAS Data Map

“The Environmental Protection Agency is failing to release records linked to a delayed interactive map for identifying local sources of “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, according to a lawsuit filed in a federal court in Washington. The EPA said in its per- and polyfluoroalkyl ...

Washington GOP Nominates Extremist Sheriff For Governor

by Elizabeth Duan | August 9, 2020
“It’s not the first time that Republicans in Washington state have chosen a far-right gadfly as their nominee for the governorship, but Tuesday’s primary in which Loren Culp—a small-town cop who has never previously run for elective office—outpaced a large field to ...